Wind regime and sand transport in China’s Badain Jaran Desert

Wind controls the formation and development of aeolian dunes, therefore understanding the wind environment is necessary in aeolian dune research. In recent years, climate has changed in and around the Badain Jaran Desert, and the factors that control aeolian dune development have changed with it. In this paper, we analyzed characteristics of the desert’s wind regime based on data from seven weather stations in and around the desert. The temporal and spatial variation in the wind regime’s characteristics have different effects on dune formation and development. The annual mean wind velocity, maximum wind velocity, and the proportion of the time the wind exceeded the sand-entrainment threshold are largest at the northern margin of the desert, and these values decrease from north to south and from east to west. The dominant winds are from the northwest, northeast, and southwest. The drift potential (DP) in the desert decreases from north to south, and can be divided into three regions: high in the north, intermediate in the central region, and low in the south. The effects of climate change on the calculated DP will be complex; although DP increased with increasing mean wind velocity and temperature, there was little or no relationship with precipitation and relative humidity.